By Admin 
Assembly Elections 2026: Voting is to be held on 152 seats in the first phase on April 23 in West Bengal, for which all preparations have been completed. In this phase, about 3.6 crore voters will exercise their franchise at about 44,000 polling stations in 16 districts. This time elections are being held in only two phases, whereas voting was held in eight phases in 2021 and six phases in 2016.
Challenge to Mamata to save her stronghold in Bengal?
In the first phase, a direct contest is being considered between the ruling All India Trinamool Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party on about 80 seats, although a multi-cornered contest may also be seen at some places. The Election Commission has made tight security arrangements, under which more than 2,400 companies of central forces have been deployed and thousands of polling stations have been declared sensitive.
Will Stalin return?
Voting will be held in a single phase on all 234 assembly seats in Tamil Nadu, in which more than 5.73 crore voters will decide the fate of more than 4,000 candidates. The main contest here is between Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam i.e. DMK and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam i.e. AIADMK.
State Chief Minister MK Stalin is trying to retain his power, while AIADMK is trying to make a comeback under the leadership of Edappadi K. Palaniswami. To make the elections peaceful and smooth, security forces have been deployed on a large scale across the state and all necessary arrangements have been ensured.
political allegations and counter-allegations
Amidst the Bengal elections, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday held a road show in support of BJP candidate Roopa Ganguly in Sonarpur South assembly constituency and appealed to the people to remove CM Mamata Banerjee from power. Shah was seen greeting supporters riding on a saffron-coloured vehicle, while a large number of people stood on both sides of the road and raised slogans of “Bharat Mata ki Jai”.
He said that Mamata Banerjee, who came to power with the slogan of ‘Maa, Mati, Manush’, has left the state “to the hands of goons” and now her aim is to make her nephew Abhishek Banerjee the Chief Minister. Alleging “syndicate rule” and industrial backwardness, Shah said this situation will end once the BJP comes to power.
At the same time, on behalf of Trinamool Congress, TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee hit back and accused Amit Shah of insulting Mamata Banerjee. He said that the way Shah addressed him as “Aye Didi” during the election campaign reflects the BJP’s thinking towards women. Abhishek Banerjee also said that the public will answer these comments after the election results are declared on May 4.
Also read: Before Bengal elections, Amit Shah’s call to remove CM Mamata, Abhishek Banerjee furious – this is an insult to a woman.